This is 72: Joyce Maynard Responds to The Oldster Magazine Questionnaire

From the time I was 10, I’ve been obsessed with what it means to grow older. I’m curious about what it means to others, of all ages, and so I invite them to take “ The Oldster Magazine Questionnaire.”

Sometimes you’ll find responses from writers, musicians, and artists you’ve heard of—like Kate Pierson, Neko Case, Rosie O’Donnell, Ava Duvernay, Jerry Saltz, Lucy Sante, magazine legend Tom Junod, Ricki Lake, Hilma Wolitzer, Elizabeth Gilbert, Judith Viorst, Cheryl Strayed, Deesha Philyaw, Chloe Caldwell, etc.—but more often it will be people ( of all ages ) you haven’t heard of, Humans of New York -style. ( Check out all the Oldster interviews… )

Here, celebrated author —most recently of the novel In Wonderland, released yesterday—responds. - Sari Botton

PS If you’re enjoying the work I do here at Oldster, please consider supporting it by becoming a paid subscriber. 🙏

“I love the spirit of Oldster and the fresh perspective it brings to aging with its wide-ranging essays and interviews.” -, paid subscriber.Subscribe now

Joyce Maynard at 72.Joyce Maynard Joyce Maynard is the New York Times -bestselling author of fourteen novels and five books of nonfiction and the longtime syndicated column “Domestic Affairs”. Her memoir, At Home in the World has been translated into eighteen languages. Her novels To Die For and Labor Day were both adapted for film.

She is a fellow of MacDowell and Yaddo residencies, and is the founder of a retreat center, Casa Paloma, on the shores of Lake Atitlan, Guatemala, where she has been hosting writing workshops, helping women tell the stories of their lives, for over twenty-five years.

Her 14 th novel, In Wonderland, was published yesterday, July 14, 2026.

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How old are you?

72! And proud of it!

Is there another age you associate with yourself in your mind? If so, what is it? And why, do you think?

In my fiction, I often return to adolescence—as I do in my newest novel. As many years as have passed since my own teenage years,…